Cotton chopper



EEL

COTTON CHOPPER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORQ 9 9 5 W PEEL,

Filed Au 8, 947 Y W C. 11% y M Q Sept. 16, 1952 F. w. PEEL 2,610,559

' COTTON CHOPPER Filed Aug. 8, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I as m H h g 141 m INVENTOR. FREDERICK W PEEL BY M! ATTO6% F. W. PEEL COTTON CHOPPER Sept. 16, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 8, 1947 'illlillllllllll .1 v

MW K1 M W, F w.

w ATTOE/VEYS Sept. 16, 1952 F. w. PEEL 2,610,559

COTTON CHOPPER Filed Aug. 8, 1947 4? Sheets-Sheet 4 so 31 82 4o /J 83 kw A 1 142 43 l IIIIII I. III. I u I84 121 I IN V EN TOR.

I FREDERICK l V. PEEL T 5. Mk4 W A TTOQNEY Y Patented Sept 16, 1952 9"Claims.

My present invention relates to cultivators and more particularly. to a cotton'chopper adapted to thin young cotton growthby cutting out young plants between the plantsfvvhich it is desired to retain and at the 'sameftime'cutdown w d djacentthe plantr,row., .m 7 jHeretofore in the construction and operation J Application August 8, 1947,. Serial Nd.. 767',404

releasingof brakesfand clutches at every chopping operation. g

ith all thepattempts which have been previously madeto produce mechanical cottom choppers, it is still morefeificint and less expensive to use fifty men tq chop. outjand weed twentyfive acres of cotton in oneday than to use any of cotton choppers and other cultivators, at-

tempts have been made to imitate the action of the hand-wielded hoe either by the use vof blades moving longitudinally of the row or transverse to the row. Such imitativeaction however has uni- ,versally proven inefiicient since control of a hoe-type blade to move'it in one direction only scarcely meets the requirements of proper hoeing operations. 7 .c

Attempts have also been made to use a pair of rotating, shear type blades with matching aps in the blades at spaced points :to chop outthe cotton row leaving spaced plants standing. But such blades are necessarily'rotated at very slow speed since any increased-speed would chop out all plants in the row. Thus, unless the blades were continuously sharpened, their slow speed tended to bend over the plants rather than cut them, even, at times, where the bladesmet. The slow speed of the blades prevented their cutting the weeds down adjacent the row, the weeds merelybending over as the blades passed over. Such blades required additional means to.:c1ear them of soil, mud and weeds. v 1' Also, most prior mechanicalcottonchoppers have been arranged so that the choppingmechanism was pushed along the -row rather than pulled. Therefore, any unevenness in the row or irregularity in the ground adjacent the row tended to pull the chopping mechanism out-of line first before the propelling mechanism thereby tending to cut out desired plants or skipping the chopping operation altogether before the course of the mechanism could be detected and changed. Even where tractive mechanism has been used, chopping'mechanisms of various unsatisfactory types have been combined with other means such as loosely mounted weeding discs wherein any unevenness in-the groundthrew the cultivator off so that it did not chop properly in the row. r

Other types of chopping means have utilized scrapers which either made undesirable potholes mechanical, heretoforeknown -means to chop and weed thecsame acreage. ,On a medium size farm with approximately fivehundred acres o'f cot ton under cultivation, Where it becomesneces sary to chop out and weediall; the cotton rows practically 'simultaneouslyathe man-power requirements, in; the absence of efficient mechanical in the row or merely bent over the weeds'and A ing by the operator, including the'setting and means, have made it. necessary to maintain a a e labor rQa1WhihQW n to the Seasonal nature of thelwork enjoys onlyoccasional periods of goodpay. This tends to depress the economy of cotton growing areas so that these areas tend to consumeless than their iair share of.the national output thereby tending to retard the national. economy ,as a whole.

My invention is. directed ,to, an automatic me- :chanical cotton chopp r dap ed. to be p d along the row by mechanical or other tractive means and so. arra fldpthat a setof high speed horizontally .rotating radial 7 blades extending from acentral cone, dome or otherlprotective element positively chopsout and weeds the row. The constantly rotating blades are alternately raised above, and lowered toward the row. When lowered toward the row, the central dome, cone or other protective means coversthe plant which is to be retained whilethefrotating blades cut out of the other, plants. and the weeds, as well..

A cam action operated byan eccentric, a crank, a loose linkage or other. mechanism causes the blades and the portion of the carrier which positions them to, move backwards with respect to the remainderofthe mechanism while the blades are lowered to cutting position; by this means the blades rotate on a'substantially staticTrTa'ry axis with respect to the ground during cutting since, of course, the entire mechanism is mechanism; the carrier is then lowered and swung back again 'to chop out the undesired plants and weeds, and the cycle is repeatedi I Where plants are to be thinned out to leave the remaining'plantsat'one foot intervals, then the blade carrier" should be lowered once per linear foot and, of course, raised between cutting operations. With the drive taken from the main tractive wheel of the mechanism by a pulley on its axle, then with a wheel five feet in circumference, the drive for raising and lowering the mechanism should be at a five to one ratio. But the drive for rotating the blades should be at a speed of the order of one hundred to one or more to produce a sufiiciently high speed rotation of the" blades .to throw on soil, mud andweeds collected thereon and to ensure proper cutting of plants and weeds. The blades should extend out from the center of the cone, dome or other protective means by about six inches or more on each side in the example given. A longer blade, of the orderof ten inches will produce double cutting over .the same area because successive cuts will overlap without reaching back to the last retained plant, but will 7 require that a speed not less than a predetermined-minimum. be maintained to avoid cutting plants which are to be retained.

-..-Preie rabl v, the blades and protectiveflome or .conea-re replaceable; .to accommodate various. size plants-= Thestroke of the carrier toward and awayirom-the plants should also'be adjustable ior plants at;diiierent, stages of growth. The

actual length of stroke may. be} the. same butl'the lower. limit of. the. stroke, and asl a're'sult the upper limit, may be varied for-plants for diiierent height.

4- weeding apparatus comprising a plurality of high speed horizontally rotating blades alternately raised to clear the plant or plants to be retained and lowered to chop and weed.

A further object of my invention is the provision in cotton chopping mechanism of novel means for protecting the plant to be retained in connection with high speed horizontal rotating chopping blades.

Another 'ob'je'ctljof my inventionsis the provision of a protective cone or dome for'supporting the horizontal high speed chopping blades.

Another object of my invention is the utilizationofthe protective cone or dome to removably secure the blades to the high speed shaft which carriesithem;

Another object of my invention is the provision of'novel readily adjustable chopping. elements in cottonchopping mechanism.

Another object of myinvention is the provision of novel, means. for readily changing the blades .ofmy cotton chopping mechanism.

Another object of my invention is. the, provision of novel simplified means for adjusting. the ver: ticallstroke of my'cotton chopper. i

' Another object of myinventionis the provision of novel vertically movablec'hopping mechanism combined with' high speed rotating blades 'and Preferably andiorsimplified operation a single crankshaft connected by a simple pivoted lever to "the bladecarrier may. be used to.'-aise and lower the blade carrierj the samecrank. shaft being' -lso used toswingtheoperative end of the blade carrier back with. respectfto the mechanism. holding it substantially stationary with re; spect to the ground. duringcutting. The two operationsare therefore accurately andinescapablysynchronized'since they are. operated'from the same shaft. A change in. the pulley ratio between the driving wheel and the crank shaft will permit variations in the length of the spaces out out; the blades and cone or .dome being, also changed to a size commensurate with the and height of plant. Thus the. drivenpulley or the crank shaft may be madereadily replaceable. Preferably the dome or cone or. other protective means will carry theblades extendingirom their periphery. V g p .Since the blades may at times-cut rather deeplyinto the hill, especially at the leading, side oithe carrier, it isdesirable to provide means forscraping; thesoil b'acln into the hill. Accordingly, my

novel. device. carries. a plurality of scrapers behind .the'chopping bladesv directed to throw soil back to the hill; It is necessary, however, to protect the young plants which have been left standing. For this purpose I provide aninverted trough 'orchannel member to carry the scrapers.

.the said-channel member being justsufficient in Another object of my invention is the utilization of high speed horizontally rotating blades for chopping and weeding purposes.

Another and important object of myinvention is the provision of novel cotton chopping and a central protective imernbler'for thev pl'antto, be retained;' .9 I j' Another object of myinvention is theprovi n. in "connection with a vertically movable chopper of means for holding'the loperativelend' of. the 'c'hopperstationary withflr espect'to the ground when the chopper moves down to the roiv...,

Another object of my invention is. in connection with the foregoing, theproyision oimeans iorcausing the operative end of the cotton cl1opper to oscillate. horizontally with respect to-the 'remainder' of the mechanism a the chopper moves up and down: 7 V

Another object of my invention is the provision of novel and simplified-means dependent primarily on the speed of rotation of a plurality of horizontal blades to clear. the blades of soil, mud and weeds. 7 1 Still; another object of my invention is the provision of novel means for adjusting the chopper elements to plants of different heights or stages of growth and'to various plant spacing requirements. p g

Another object of my invention is the provision of novel meansfor restoring soil to the row after the chopping operation While. at. the same time protecting the selected plants from the 7 soil which is thrown back.

A- further objector myinvention is. the provision ofnovel combined-tractive means in connection with high speed cotton choppingand weeding elements; I i

I Still another object of my invention is the provision of novel fully automatic choppin and weeding apparatusrequiring only to be drawn by ;mechanical or other tractlve means and to he guid'edwhile it is being drawn.

ratus.

Figure 4 is a vertical view partly in cross-sec- The-:tube; :is; however; centered iir'the vertical position by the compression springs:-62;.:G-3 (Figurem connected; to appropriate lugs-or; other connectors 5. 6 5 I at the; forward. vertical; end of tube .50.:and connected-at their opposite ends to brackets 65; 61 carried :by transverse horizontal channels In, I2. Adjusting bolts 10, 1I threaded in brackets- 65, 51 andhav-ingelements bearing against the endsof and guiding spring -82;, 63 may be ,used to.;adjust th compression of the sprin s to ensureinitial. vertical positioning of I-" .9 3-"1" 'The tube; 50- and associated chopping elements including shaft 49,. dome; or cone 35 and blades .BSarethus arrangedandresilientlyheldin vertical position, being biased to return to the ver- .tical. position When pivoted therefrom around bearings 52.53. s i v i The. entire chopper assembly may, of course, bepivotedaround bearings 52,v 53 when required for chopping and weeding purposes as hereinafterdescribed. v

A pulleyflll is connected to "the upper end, of shaft. =4fl. 7 blades 35 are rotated at high speed by belt 8| driven by pulley 82.0n shaft 83 rotatably carried in bearingv brackets 84, 85 on the forward ends of bars I4 and I5. Shaft 8.3 carries pulley 81 driven .byfbelt '83 from pulley 89 on axle 95 of. the wheels 9l andsz- I Wheels 9I' and 92 on eachside are mounted. on axl 90 carried in bearing .brackets'95, 35. on the forwar'cle nds.of bars2il and 2I.. Where the entire mechanism isfa self contained motor driven unit, rather than a unit which. is hitched to mechanical or other tractive mechanism, then the power plant (not. shown) may be; mounted across the extended forward ends of bars and 2Ijand the ultimate drive shaft of the po vverlplant ma be connected by chains I90, I01 to sprockets. I02, I53onaxle 93. A single chain and'sprocket drive forthe single axle may be used. 7 I The=drive from pulley 39 on axle 9!! to pulley 81 and'then from pulley 82 to pulley 80 on shaft 40 for rotating blades 35 is at a ratio sufficient to produce a high rate of spin of blades 35. This rate of spin should be such that the blades will not only cut plants and weeds efficiently but also such that the centrifugal force generated b the speed of rotation will throw mudQsoil and weeds off the blades automatically. The optimum rate of spin will vary with the use of the apparatus under different conditions but will range from about 500 R. P. M. to 2000 R. P. M.

' 'Sideguards' 19 may be mounted at the lower end of; tube 43 to prevent soil which is thrown off: blades 35 from injuring adjacent rows of Plants. tThe. belt "connection from pulley 82 to pulley 8,0. should-be. such as to permita vertical stroke of? shaft 40 of about eight inches, or 4 inches above and below the norm. This may be accomcompression springs H 4 upwardly.

It is necessary, also, to move the blades down Pulley 8D and hence shaft 40 and 1 a 8 toward. thel'cotton row to chop. and lweed and to raise them again to clear .thei-plant r .';plants which it. is desired to. retain. Where the; blades are to be lowered at one foot intervalsandraised again between the intervals,v the. drive 7 f or lowering and-raisingv the bladesmay be .keyedby the properi driving ratio. .to: the main wheel 3 I or 82 or: their axle or. axles. 'Thus; where ther diam eter. of the. main. wheels is 18 inchesz andz their circumference 56 inches, the ratio of the: drive to the raising and lowering mechanism should be:56- to12.. i'

' The raising. and/lowering" mechanism for blades 35 operates on the vertically'slidable, tube 43 which; carries shaft 40. and blades 35:.-

.- The tube=43xcarries,c extending from opposite sides thereof; pins. I20; ,I2.I (Figures 1,..3 andu) which. are received 'in'the horizontal; slots I22, I23 of the bifurcated clevis ends I24, I25 oflever I30. Lever I30, 'whichextends longitudinally of the: machine, is pivoted on :shaftrIZ Bwcarried-between'brackets l5 and I1 for movement in aver.- tical-plane.v The front end of lever I isxconnected by pin I30a to clevis I3I of link I32. The opposite end of link. [32 is connected to the eccentric section I35 of crank :shaft I36 'carriedxin bearing brackets. I31, I31 secured to;.the undersideofbars I4and-l5.. 1 3;

As crank shaft I36 rotates;v eccentric. section I 35 thereof. will, rise .and. fall,., raising and lowering link I35 ,and'raising; and lowering the for:- ward endof lever I21; This :willcause-the clevis ends 'I24, I25 of lever I21 alternately to. lower and rise thereby lowering and. raising tube/:43 andshaft lfl together with b1ades 35l 1 The drive for shaft I36 is takenifrhmfpulley I40 on. axle. 95. .Pulley I40 drives beltI II which in turn drives :pulley. I42 eccentrically: mounted .on crank. shaft I 3.5. Thisdrive .atl'such aratio related to-the circumference'of wheel '9I as will produce a lowering of blades 35..once'every 12 inches where that lSdBSiIBdOIOI'J-CB. at any" other interval as required. Pulley. r42 maybe made replaceable to varythe interval between: blade lowering operations where that may be'required. Preferably, pulley I42- is eccentrically mounted on crank shaft. I35 with .the smaller diameter corresponding to the, lowered. position of .the blades. This will bring the-blades down and up more quickly and hold them longer at the up position. This will minimize the effect of. any forward motion of'the blades which may acci- 'dentally :occur. during thelowered position of the blades.- V

It is. necessary to halt the forward movement of' the blades during thebrief interval when they are lowered so that they'will'cutin one position only and not move longitudinally aiong'the row during the cutting operation. r I For this purpose; crank shaft [36 is provided with another eccentric portion I- passing through long slot I51 in link I52. The opposite end of link I52 is connected to the clevis I53 adjacent the lower end of outer tube 50. The eccentric portion I50 of crank shaft I 35 pushes down against the lower end of slot I5I'to'push down link I 52 at the time blades 35 begin to approach the row. Link I52 pushing against clevis I53 rotates tube I50 and hence the'whole chopperassembly'including-blades 35 clockwise about pivots 52 and 53 thereby moving the'blades 35 backwards with respect to 'there main'der of the mechanism during the cutting operation which occurs rapidly owing to the eccentricity of pulleyI42.

- 16 "scrape, the .soil backf-to the row and a acid-5.55

The-idegree of b'a'ckward movement thus ob-- -tained is based on an estimate of I the "average speed of movement'of the chopper and weeder alo'ng therowL For'practical' purposes-this is based on an-average speed of three miles per hour. The backward movement of the blades 35 by link --I52 and portion I50 of crank shaft I36 should these be at this speed du'ringthe brief cutting interval to prevent the movement of the blades alongthe row-during actualcutting The lofigslot' l5l permits the--springs62 and 63-to center'- the chopper element's once more when they are raised, preparatory'to the'next-cutting operation; the-springs thus return the mechaihi'sm to the originalposition foi the nextopera- Ifi w; I v 1 Asabovep'ointed out the"sti'okefof'my'hovel chopper preferably eight inches to accommodate for eventhe largest-plants to be chopped out. Difierent sizes of domes or cones 36 and blades 35'may be used to accommodate for plants at difierent stagesof g'rovvth. Thus-Figure '7 :shows a dome or cone and blade combination adapted for the first chopping 'ope fationl Figure 8 shows a domeor-coneand bladecojmbin ation adapted 'for a later chopping operation. "Since domes or cones- 36 OfQFiguresT and 8 are of the same height but ofdifferent cross-section, the same stroke maybe usedat the same position ofthe stroke for-the different chopping operations; Q

It may be desirable,-- however," to use a shorter dome 36a (Figure- 10)j for smaller plants and a tallerdome as inFigure 8 for larger plants. Then, although the stroke of the chopper blades 35 upand down may remain eight inches, itis necessary toshift the'st'roke by the differencein height of the domes'of Figures 10 and '8 so that the-blades of each dome will reach the base of jiielrow." I? l f l For this-purpose; I'providethe adjustment shown in Figure swherein link lZla is "a com- 'posite; link comprising clevisjsecticn 125a and 'm'ain section I211), T1118 operation of link [21a is identical withthjat previously described'for link 121- of; Figur es 1-8 but section I2 5a is connected to" section; 1 211 byjbolt' ZOQ passin .-throu hfop 'po'sitely; threaded portions 2015202, .ofse'otions l2 5a'and I211 Rotation fj'b lt 2|l'0fwi1l "raise or lower "leversection" Z E a vvitHQreSpect to the 'remainder'of the lever therebygshi'ft the pee sition offtubefl 'in accordance withthevariation in the height of the; protective tdome orcone used. The adjustmen whenmade;mayfbe'retained by lock-nut 205. f f 1 V.

1 After the jcuttingiioperatio'n is performed; it may be necessary to scrape soil backto the row particularlywhere: the-blades may have dug into the row during the chopping operation-.1 ,At the s'aimetirrie} itis necessary to protect the young iplantstrom the 'soil'which is scraped back. I accordingly; the rearwardly' extending bars 23, fl-ij-gca-rry transverse bars 220;? tewmmam secured: the inverted trough orch'annel 2 3] T,he walls of 'channel 23 'l which longitudinally ofthe row are'spaced just "su ffi ntly far a a t fba sf n ithe isi etq xitne t ine'mene protect-them, therebyformin' ga ifig in elicit he pl n I poe ry; exten i g y the to-which. re secured s] rapin slaci kzslz "ta ed t in the P n att gmw P ev u ly;choppcdnut;a The a walls,;however;= protecti the young plants 75 vv hi'ch remain standing fromthe -soil wh h is thus scraped backsf 232' (m th first brackets :30 ay be 1 n. m e t a necessary. fiut finer blades 233 'rriay bejadded on the second; brackets 230 and 'smoo'thin'g blades or bro'om'Nl-may be added on the last brackets 23 2l V -By my novel device, therefore, it becomes possible-to chop and weed of the-order oione acre perhour using asingle machine for this purpose and a single operator who need not necessarily be skilled. r v

All operations of the chopper and weeder are driven by pulleys andbelts fromthe main driving wheel or axlei pThe use of pulleys and belts fOI'lthiS purpose ratherthan chains and sprockets provides smooth operating members which will fnotcollect and retain mud, soil and weeds.

'The motion of the main wheel of the mecha-' 'nism spins the'chop'ping blades and also provides the drive for. moving the blades down to cutting position and upagain; The drive for this latter operation is such' that the blades approach, cut

and move away very rapidly thus minimizing the effect of the forwardmoticn; Nevertheless, my novel mechanism contains means for moving the blades back with respect to the mechanism at a speed equal to theforward motion of the mechanism .to hold the blades stationary with respect to the ground. Sincethe drive for this last operation is also taken from the'main wheel, the speed of this relative rearward motion of vthe blades is directly related to the forward speed of the main wheel; the faster the entire mechanism. moves forward, the faster is the relative rearward movement of the blades with respect to the mechanism during cutting. The blades thus remain stationary with respect to the ground during cutting irrespectiveof variations in the forward speed of the entire device during cutting.

. For simplified operation, rearwardly extending uide and control handles connected to the main axle or forward. of the main axle are provided; the handles extending to a point behind the scrapers and theiproteotive'inverted trough or channel and at a convenient heightto be held by am-an walking along the row; V 1' I The entire mechanism "may be. self-contained withjapowerplant mounted on, a front platform; or the apparatus. may be madeas an attachment to; be hitched to and'trail behind a hand pe tractor of well kno wn' type; or the apparatus may be arranged tobe drawn by mechanica1 or other I jtractive means: t a t g o In: operation, my novel'. device is drawn, not pushed, alongthe rowby any of the means above fp'ointed out, thegbladesjjspinl at highspeed while they move rapidly to. approach the row and cut ipiantsandweeasf The movement at..the upper end of the stroke-is co respondingly slowed down. blades are automatically swungback to. stationary with" respect'to the ground during cutting and are swung forward again duringtheuplpr-po i of. t st oke,

Wh' he s rokemey b q n itv h e c l pos t on: of; t e.;-stroke= maycbez dius cl when dom s o 901E519? d er n he sh s,.-.a e-;used'- pnexadjustment maybe made simply by rotating one: bolt on; the oscillating lever :lockirig ilffifi poe 'sition'bysa -lock'nut? The dom'e's' and associated iblades':may'zreadily be ch an'ged- -by removing a single nutfwhich secures the dome imposition, I'e'rntifliifig the ddrfieg -passing the 6p eni'n'g" in ttle tween sides-may be made adjustable.

plants at different stages of growth. Where the domes or cones vary in height, then the only other adjustment, needed is the rotation .of the bolt on the oscillating lever for adjusting the position of the stroke. -'I;'he :scrapers are positioned to. scrape at or just below thelevel of the tread of the main wheelto scrape soil back toward the row tov restore soil which may havev been chopped from the ro.w.'v The trough'is initially as tall as will be necessary to clear the tallest plants to be cut;

.thefsides are spaced apart just enough to clear tlieplants. Where necessary, the spacing be- Also the front edgesof the; side Wallsof the inverted trough or channelshould flare outwardly. so that any .plant'may enter therein without injury.

In the forfigoing, I have described my invention only. in connection with illustrative embodin ents. thereof. Since many variations and modif cations of. my invention will now be obvious to, thoseskilled in the art, Iprefer to be bound, not bythespecific disclosures herein contained but only by the appended claims.

'1 Achoppjer and weeder for .plantrows comprising a substantially vertical shaft, a. plurality of substantially horizontal blades connected to the lowerend of the. shaft; a plant protector connei tfid to the. lower end of the shaft; said plant-protector comprising at least. a portion of the-eunnection'of the blades to the shaft; "a source (if l owcr aconnec'ti'onirom said source. of power tosaidshdftffoi rotating saidshaft and blades,

said shaft. being vertically slidable while, rotatconnected to the-lowenlend of the shaft; said plan-t protectorcomprising at least a. portion of the connection of the blades to theshaft; asource of power, a connection-from said sourceiof power to said shaftforrotatingsaid shaft and blades, saidshaft being, vertically slidable while ,rotatina-a'n a econd connec ion om. said source nffmwer t sa d sheift f alternately lowering elidy ais nsj said' hai n b s Said shaft and, blades rotate, said blades and; plant protector being removable; and replaceable at the end' of the shaft;

3. An automatic mechanical chopper and weeder for plant rows comprising a support movable along a plant row; a substantially-vertical shaft, said shalft'being-rotatableon its axis and s'lidabl-y mounted--vertically with I respect to said support; said support being pivotally mounted for; limited". rotation Lin, a vertical plane;.a plurality .ofradiating blades at thelowerend; of said-shaft a souroeiof power, a connection from w ot of; power; ossaid shaft for rotating se dsha tto p ad ianp cill tine lever lever and the source of power-comprising a crankshaft,a connection between the opposite end of said lever and said crankshaft; and'a cyclically speed changing drive for said crankshaft for increasing th speed of said crankshaft while the blade carrying shaft is lowered and correspondingly decreasing the speed of the crankshaft while the blade carrying shaft is raised.

4. An automatic mechanical chopper and weeder for-plant rows comprising a support movable alonga .plant row; a substantially vertical shaft, said shaft being rotatable on its axis and slidably mounted vertically with respect to said support; said support being pivotally mounted for limited rotation in a vertical plane; a'pluralityof radiating blades at the lower end of said shaft; .a source of power,ra connection from said source of power to said shaft for rotating said shaft to spin said blades; said shaft being vertically slidable while rotating, and a second connection from said source of power to said shaft for moving said shaft vertically in its support while it is rotated, and means for swinging the lower-end of said support in a vertical-plane in a direction opposite to that in which the support as a whole moves while said shaft is lowered; a common crankshaft for operating said main shaft forvertical and swinging movement in; synchronismwith each other.

5. An automatic mechanical chopper and weeder for plantrows comprising a support movable along a plant row; a substantially vertical shaft, saidshafrt being, rotatable on its axis and slidably mo unted vertically with, respect to said support; said support being pivotally mounted 'for limited rotation in a vertical plane; a. plurality of radiating blades at the lower end, of said shaft asource of power, a connection from said sourceof power to said shaft. for rotating shaft-to. spin. said blades; said shaft being vertically slidable while. rotating, and asecond on ion from said source of power to said sh fitffor movingsaid shaftv vertically in itssupport whiIe'it-is rotated; means forsswingi-ng; the lo; er end of I said support in a. vertical plane.v in a 'dire'oti'onlopposite.to that. in which the support as 'whiolelmovefs while saidshaft. 'is lowered; and a common. crankshaft for operating said main shaft for vertical and swinging movement in -synchroniszn each. other, the apparatus forwerti'cally moving said'blade-shaft comprising an oscillating lever connected at. one. end-to saidblade-"shaft and'a'tthe. other end to said cranlr'sl'iaft.- j

I 6 automatic mechanical" chopper and weeder for'plan-tlrows comprising a supportmovable: along :a plant rowa substantially-vertical shaft,.:said shaftbeing rotatable on its axis and slidably mounted? vertically with: respect to said SHPD QZ said 'sl pport being pivotally mounted for limited rotation: in r a vertical. plane; a. :plurality of radiating blades as the lower end of saidshaft; asource of power, a connection from urceofpowerto said, shaft for rotating I I I tito sfpinlsaid"blades;-said shaft being yertic 1y slifdable while-rotating, and a. second conne ion'from*said,jso,urce of. power to said shaf for movingfsaidi'shaft vertically inits suppor-twliile-it is rotated means for swinging the lnwer endiof; said' support in a vertical plane in a.ldirection: bpl psite to that in-which the sup port; as, arwhol'e' moves iwhile said shaftis low ered; a common crankshaft for operating said main shaft for vertical and swinging movement in synchronism with each other, the apparatus for vertically moving said blade-shaft comprising an oscillating lever connected at one end to said blade-shaft and at the other end to said crankshaft, and the apparatus for swinging said support comprising a link connected between said crankshaft and the lower end of said support.

7. An automatic mechanical chopper and weeder for plant rows comprising a support movable along a plant row; a substantially vertical shaft, said shaft being rotatable on its axis and slidably mounted vertically with respect to said support; said support being pivotally mounted for limited rotation in a vertical plane; a plurality of radiating blades at the lower end of said shaft; a source of power, a connection from said source of power to said shaft for rotating said shaft to spin said blades; an oscillating lever; a connection between one endof said lever and said shaft for moving said shaft vertically in its support while it is rotated; and apparatus for varying the initial vertical position of said shaft in said support for varying the position of the vertical stroke thereof; said last mentioned apparatus comprising a vertically adjustable element on the oscillating lever; said vertically adjustable element including the connection between said oscillating lever and said shaft.

8. An automatic mechanical chopper and weeder for plant rows comprising a support movable along a plant row; a substantially vertical shaft, said shaft being rotatable on its axis and slidably mounted vertically with respect to said support; said support being pivotally mounted for limited rotation in a vertical plane; a plurality of radiating blades at the lower end of said shaft; a source of power, a connection from said source of power to said shaft for rotating said shaft to spin said blades; said shaft being vertically slidable while rotating, and a second connection from said source of power to said shaft for moving said shaft vertically in its sup port while it is rotated; said apparatus moving said shaft vertically relatively rapidly at the bottom end of its stroke and correspondingly slowly at the top end of its stroke; all of said elements being supported on a frame carried by at least a pair of wheels movable along the ground; and a belt and pulley driving connection between at least one of said wheels and the crankshaft, at least one of said pulleys being eccentric.

9. An automatic mechanical chopper and weeder for plant rows comprising a support movable along a plant row; a substantially vertical shaft, said shaft being rotatable on its axis and slidably mounted vertically with respect to said support; said support being pivotally mounted for limited rotation in a vertical plane; a plurality of radiating blades at the lower end of said shaft; a source of power, a connection from said source of power to said shaft for rotating said shaft to spin said blades; said shaft being vertically slidable while rotating, and a second connection from said source of power to said shaft for moving said shaft vertically in its support while it is rotated; said apparatus moving said shaft vertically relatively rapidly at the bottom end of its stroke and correspondingly slowly at the top end of its stroke; all of said elements being supported on a frame carried by at least a pair of wheels movable along the ground; a belt and pulley driving connection between at least one of said wheels and the crankshaft, and a belt and pulley driving connection between at least one of said wheels and said blade shaft;

FREDERICK W. PEEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,701,893 Newsom Feb. 12, 1929 1,936,135 Lierman et al Nov. 21, 1933 2,250,081 Piper July 22, 1941 2,332,262 Rowe Oct. 19, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 8,949 Great Britain 17.11: Jan. 25, 1906 

